


we'll set the world on fire (and the sun can fuck right off)

by haljordae



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, M/M, Minor Kim Jongin | Kai/Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 00:50:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13513293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haljordae/pseuds/haljordae
Summary: This is a cruel world and they’re no more than a mere tool for people with power to play with. Jongdae doesn’t mind it, though, for all the life taken and the blood shed are nothing but a small token in exchange for his human sanctuary. But when the secret behind the death of his family is finally revealed, he realizes that biting back will never be enough."There's a third kind you're forgetting about, Cobblepot:survivors."—Alfred Pennyworth(Batman: Earth One Volume One, 2012)





	we'll set the world on fire (and the sun can fuck right off)

**Author's Note:**

> Rated Mature for blood and violence, although I'll keep them as mild as possible. However, if everything should escalate to a whole new level, more warnings shall be added accordingly.

 

**_i_ ** **. please hush, my child**

*****

 

 ** _His little legs couldn’t hold_** him any further; he staggered with no will left to bring him back to his feet for the last time, pressing the eyelids tightly the moment his body hit the ground. It was a cold and hard surface, and wet from the rain, drizzling down from the open night’s sky – just like his family, the stars and moon had left him alone…

The thought about his family forced a sob out of his tiny chest. For how long it had been there, the boy had no idea. It felt like forever, yet everything was still a vivid imagery splashing behind his eyelids as if the crimson was still spilling out from an open wound around his mother’s neck right there and then. And soon, his crying melted into the sound of the pitter-patter, the tears streaming down his face met each droplet of rain caressing his cheek.

And so Jongdae cried and cried with no soul to accompany him. He missed his mother, oh how much he missed the woman already. Her name was a weep escaping his lips, and to replace the room she had left empty was a constant reminder of the fate his mother had to face – red flooding Jongdae’s vision as her lifeless body hit the floor in the master bedroom.

Just like the rain that didn’t seem to stop, the red was not the end of his nightmare. Silver soon fell into his vision – it gleamed wickedly under the scorching amber from the flame that had been eating his home greedily – as his father brought another blade closer to his own throat. The voices from the outside seeped into the chamber, each word was laced with nothing but rage and malice, yet they soon disappeared for it was only one word coursing into the cave of Jongdae’s mind. His father’s last word… the one that tore through the noises before the trembling hand buried the tip of the blade into the column of his own neck, a deep slit to cut the only thread that kept the man a part of this wild, wild world:

“ _Live._ ”

 _But I don’t want to live_ , the kid pondered the moment his half-lidded eyes found a blurred image of two pairs of legs, an undistinguishable voice tainted the music the rain was playing followed. _I want Mother and Father…_

 

—

 

Time dragged itself slowly ever since Jongdae’s eyes fluttered open, meeting the white ceiling adorned with an intricate molding and shimmering splash of golden to accent the surface. It had been quite a while since the last time the same dream paid him a visit, yet it still felt as lucid as the night when he saw his father take both his own and his wife’s life away… the night Jongdae saw both his parents and the house where he spent his childhood at for the last time.

There was a faint trace of smoke in the air he breathed in; another fragment from the past that hitched his breath in the least comfortable way. His breathing soon became frantic, his bare chest moved up and down wildly as if his lungs were demanding for clear, fresh air. Jongdae closed his eyes while coughing up nothing from his throat, and it felt like he was running through the thick cloud of smoke once again while trying to hide himself from the devils who had set his house on flame.

The next time Jongdae opened his eyes, there was a familiar face staring back at him with worry obvious in the frown contorting the features. “Dae?”

Words had yet to find their way to the tip of Jongdae’s tongue. But each time he blinked, Kyungsoo’s face was still the one within his sight.

“I’ll bring you wa—”

It was still nothing but an empty huff of air coming from Jongdae’s mouth as he latched his fingers onto Kyungsoo hastily. The latter shot his thick brows upwards, confusion was obvious in his pair of round eyes, but Jongdae only pulled the other male back to where the belonged. None of them uttered any single word when Jongdae inched closer, closing in the distance between them and burying his face in the chest as naked as his.

The remaining tight gap was gone once Kyungsoo flung his arms around the other male’s shoulder – the mark he had left on the skin had bloomed like a flower overnight, leaving a familiar shade of purple to contrast the fair complexion.

It was a throaty murmur pressed into the left of Kyungsoo’s chest where his beating heart pumping the blood in and out underneath the layer of skin and muscle, “Sing for me, Soo.”

Their legs were tangled just like how their life and hearts had intertwined ever since the rainy night Jongdae was found. Kyungsoo planted a kiss at the crown of Jongdae’s head, burying his nose in the softness of the raven-colored strands and taking in the familiar scent – the one that smelled like his own. There was only one song in his head, the same one he knew by rote what the man inside his embrace wished to hear.

The first line flowed smoothly from Kyungsoo’s lips, a quiet hum to fill in the silence engulfing their two bodies.

 

“ _Please hush, don’t keep on crying_

_My child with a lovely face_

_If you cry, you won’t look as beautiful_.”

 

Kyungsoo’s heartbeat led him, creating a rhythm his breathing obeyed willingly. Behind the closed lids, Jongdae could see another memory from the past start to manifest the moment another familiar gentle voice joined in the singing; a voice that belonged to his mother. It was a song she always serenaded to him, a cradlesong to lull him to sleep.

 

“ _I pray that you can live honorably_

_Be a man of high importance_

_Bring honor to your parents’ name_

_Be a warrior of your country_.”

 

He remembered the feeling of each drop of rain hitting his back and the hard ground underneath him, how he slowly drifted to sleep for all his weak body wished was to rest and dream… To dream about the sunny spring day when a boy would run freely across the meadow; his mother and father would watch him under the shade of the trees; the woman would feed her husband the homemade food she would’ve prepared even before the other members of the family stirred from their sleep; and when the boy turned, he would find his parents kissing.

“ _Please hush, my child_

_There, the moon is full_

_Like the head of a scary giant_

_The one who’s looking for a crying child._ ”

 

His mother would read the boy a bedtime story too, especially when he wished to stay awake for a little longer. The constant yawn escaping his lips and the heaviness hanging on the corner of his eyes, however, would always betray him, despite all of his sleepy mumbling of, “I’m not sleepy. A big kid like me can stay up all night without feeling exhausted at all, Mother.”

And the lady would always recite the same story about a monster that loved to kidnap children – _very_ _bad,_ _bad_ children who refused to sleep even when it was already too late. The monster, his mother would tell him, watched the bad kid with his large red eyes from the darkest corner in the room. If the kid still insisted to stay awake at midnight, the monster would show itself – how it looked would vary from one child to another, but it was always the their _worst_ nightmare.

“ _Please hush, my child._ ”

 

Jongdae had learnt for a long time that monsters were real, and the worst amongst them wasn’t the kind that lurked around a child’s room once the night prevailed. Instead, they lived amidst humans, wearing the faces of people Jongdae had grown familiar with, for it was nothing but a mere façade to conceal their true form.

“You were dreaming…” said Kyungsoo in a hushed whisper after another period of comfortable silence.

A sigh rolled out from Jongdae’s lips as he tilted his head upwards, basking in the glint reflected on Kyungsoo’s onyx eyes. His arms inched upwards and flung around the other’s neck, their foreheads met somewhere along the way. A wince slightly contorted his face once the soreness nudged his senses the moment Kyungsoo pushed him gently until Jongdae’s back met the bed once again, none of them refused to take their eyes off of each other.

“I was…” Jongdae breathed out his answer, training his eyes on the pair of full lips.

The other man, fully aware of the attention his lips received, leaned down to land a teasing graze on Jongdae’s lips before pressing a kiss on the cheek instead. “It’s been a while, right?”

The proximity and intimacy invited an appreciative hum escaping Jongdae’s lips. “Hmm… Can’t remember…” Another sigh followed once the other’s mouth teased the spot under his ear, nibbling at the patch of his skin softly. “But you know, Soo…”

“What?”

Jongdae could feel the electricity running down his spine, promptly signaling a pleasant shiver rushing towards his fingertips. For a moment, words escaped him just like how his nightmare always faded into the void whenever Kyungsoo’s presence welcomed him.

Because when the world he had once known was burnt to a crisp, a new one soon bloomed the night he was saved and brought into his new _family_. He might have learnt about the real monsters roaming around the streets and disguising themselves as humans, as well as the truth about how perpetually cruel and merciless the place where he lived in. Yet, despite its hideous nature, this world was also where he could find someone he loved, and Jongdae was more than willing to pay the price as long as he could stay with him… to relish his touch and share the warmth and feel the their heart beating as one.

He was the solace Jongdae had discovered after tasting the pain from losing his everything. He was his fire, blood, strength, passion, and _love_ … And he was the same man whose pair of deep, dark orbs always pulled Jongdae’s in as if there had always been a force of gravity hidden inside.

“I know that I’m not dreaming now,” the smile spreading across Jongdae’s lips was a reflection of the one blossoming on Kyungsoo’s own. He traced them with the pad of his thumb, moving it lazily as if he was memorizing the combination of both dryness and softness of the flesh.

“How do you know?” The lashes fluttered gently when Kyungsoo closed his eyes to kiss the digit.

It was another hoarse whisper. “Kiss me.”

 

—

 

The dining room, just like the rest of the mansion, was extravagant. But when the bedroom was mainly dominated by a combination of ivory white and golden – at least, that was how it was in the chamber Jongdae and Kyungsoo picked randomly the previous night – more and more colors were prominent there. As Jongdae mused while scanning the space for the last time, though, it was more like a visual catastrophe once he finally realized that he couldn’t quite peel his eyes off the obnoxious mix of forest green, amber, and yellow upholstering the mahogany dining chairs.

It was, of course, none of his problem, especially when his gaze stopped at the sight of Minseok’s narrowed eyes – this one clearly screamed _trouble_ , even with dark violet-colored strands scattered across his forehead. The latter seated himself at the head of the table where a wingback chair nestled, clad in the velvety black fabric. Even with the distance between them, Jongdae could quite see the twitch at the corner of the tightly pursed lips.

But the male sitting on his right was the one who announced the sole reason behind Minseok’s irritation. His plump lips stretched in a sincere warmth once he turned to find Kyungsoo and Jongdae entering the quarter, and the man beamed, “You’re late! And Minseok’s too annoyed to complain because—”

“Breakfast starts at 8 sharp,” cut Kyungsoo, sparing none of them a glance as he pulled a chair and sit down. The familiar stoic face was still on his face as he looked up to stare back at the man. “I know, Jongin. We took the wrong turn thrice. Blame whoever built this place, not us; this place is too big.”

But Jongin only heaved his shoulders before turning to Minseok, muttering something that sounded like, “I’ll go help Baekhyun.”

Minseok, however finally opened his mouth once Jongdae had joined them at the table. “If both of you were considerate enough to leave the bed five minutes early, none of us should wait for you to eat, Soo.”

“Aww…” Another male approached the table with two plates in his hands. As always, he was clad in black from head to toe – a color that slowly became his favorite for a reason everyone in the room could completely understand. “Grandpa Minseok is grumpy… Look what you’ve done, Soo; you just gave Min new wrinkles on his forehead.”

“Shut up, Baekhyun,” the violet-haired male threw a glare the other obviously didn’t heed at all, judging from the wide grin stretching across his lips. “I want to finish everything earlier so we can return before the dusk. Remember that we have yet to greet our hosts properly _thanks to you_?”

“Relax, Min,” Baekhyun chuckled and gave Jongin a wink when the latter arrived with the other three plates he carefully served to Kyungsoo, Minseok, and himself. “And it’s not my fault that there are too many rooms in this goddamn manor, okay? I entered the wrong bedroom is all.”

The other only rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah… And gave the husband enough time to bust every door down with a shotgun in his hands and shoot me in my face? This is what I’d be more than willing to remind you every goddamn time, even after I join those other filthy souls in hell, Baekhyun. _You’re welcome_.”

Another burst of laughter erupted in the room, yet it came from Kyungsoo this time. Jongdae lowered his head as he fought the urge to join his partner, yet a smirk managed to creep on his lips anyway. “Chill, Grandpa. I’m sure you’ll outlive not only all of us, but also this world. Worry not, though; I shall reserve a special place in hell only for you.”

But before Minseok retorted, Jongin had squeezed his right shoulder first. “Gentlemen,” the wide smile spreading on his lips had turned his eyes into a pair of crescents, “As much as I’d like to enjoy this friendly chatter, there are still more works to do this morning. We can still talk later after meeting our hosts, who have kindly offered us a place to relieve us from the weariness and foods to sate our hunger.”

A heavy sigh blew from Minseok’s nostrils and the man gave Jongin the same squeeze on the latter’s hand, still resting on his shoulder. “Kyungsoo, you’ll be doing the dishes later. And before you throw your tantrum, remember that you’re also the one causing the commotion last night.”

Jongdae, however, knew that it wasn’t the exact cause – a hunch proven to be true once he caught Minseok’s fleeting glance at him before returning his attention to the food in front of him soon after. Absently popping the food into his mouth, his mind drifted to revisit a memory of what had happened the night before, when he had to send a blow aimed at the back of the woman’s head once his husband’s shouting seeped into the room. The body immediately fell limply to the floor and Jongdae remembered to cover the half-naked woman with the blanket before Jongin sauntered into the room in a white shirt, unlike the other three who easily blended with the night in their dark attire. After making sure that she was still breathing, the latter easily lifted the body off the floor.

“Where are you taking her?” Jongdae remembered himself asking the question, to which Jongin answered with the familiar arch lingering on his lips, “Where we could take care of them later.”

 

—

 

The three of them – Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Minseok, who led the way – walked across the grand entry foyer and entered the large living room, where lavender and sage green decorated the space this time. Jongdae glanced at the mess of cigarette butts on the coffee table and some empty bottles on the carpeted floor; _Minseok must’ve stayed here last night_ , the male cocked one brow before training his eyes back on the violet head, gleaming brightly under the ray of sunlight intruding the quiet space through the large arched glass windows. And that meant Jongin, who stayed in the kitchen to help Kyungsoo clean up, stayed in the same room too.

Minseok pushed a wooden door open, revealing a smaller room flooded with the natural warmth of wood covering the whole space except for the ceiling, which was simply painted in ivory white. It was a library, without a doubt, judging from the tall shelves filling in almost every wall surface. A maple office desk, paired with an equally beautiful leather chair, was perched on one corner, while a grand piano could be found on the other one.

His eyebrows arched upwards once Minseok’s figure approached the piano instead – the same confusion was also seen on the surface of Baekhyun’s eyes once they exchanged a look. However, whatever doubt or question in their head was soon answered once a click echoed in the room after Minseok pressing three keys. Peering over his shoulder, the man gestured the other two to follow him when he padded towards one particular shelf.

With one single push, a secret passage was soon revealed itself before their eyes. The sight incited a snort blowing from Jongdae’s nostrils. _Yeah, right…_ he chuckled mentally, walking down a set of stairs at the back with Baekhyun in front of him. _Of course there has to be a secret room someplace in a place this huge_.

And just like every secret corridor he had entered in several different occasions before, this one was as dimly lit as the others. The cold, damp concrete surface sent the familiar moldy smell and gleamed dully on the areas where the weak golden light flushed up the space. There was no corner, meaning that it was the only way in and out. The path wasn’t particularly narrow either as Jongdae could still move his arms freely, yet it was obvious that whoever wished to flee from whatever room they’d find at the end of the hallway had to pray that there was nobody around.

Unless they were tied, of course, just like the two bodies they found at the end of the corridor. It was a door-less room which shared the same dreary look and dampness, showered with the glaring white light instead – Jongdae had to squint his eyes while his pupils was adjusting to the change in intensity.

The male, lying helplessly on the damp concrete floor, jerked his head when both Minseok and Baekhyun approached them, who spared him no care despite the desperate muffled scream seeping out of the rags stuffing his mouth. The other body, which long auburn hair sprawling on the surface still looked as lustrous as the first time Jongdae laid his eyes on the woman, remained quiet – the blanket he had put on her was nowhere in sight, and so her bare breast was exposed.

Baekhyun hunkered down, yanking at the handful of hair and mumbling, “Don’t worry; she’s still breathing.”

“Good,” breathed Minseok. He turned and approached Jongdae, standing next to the latter near the entrance. Both of them leaned their back against the wall and the violet-haired male trapped a cigarette between his lips, humming, “Start with the woman first. I want to know if she’ll remain this silent once she meets her… friend.”

The cigarette smell spread in the room, entering Jongdae’s lungs the moment Minseok blew a puff. His gaze was met by the voiceless scream for help coming from the man’s eyes, the same man who welcomed him warmly only yesterday. Disgust forced the muscles in Jongdae’s face stiffen and invited a twitch on his right eye once he spotted a weak flicker of hope glistening the stranger’s orbs, wet with tears streaming down his cheeks.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song in this chapter is a translation from a traditional Javanese song titled Lela Ledhung. Listen to the song [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6yoovxBXs8) or [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDNBOttVino), for the instrumental/piano version.


End file.
